The Charles Manson story isn’t going to end any time soon, and his portrayal in movies and TV isn’t over just yet. Despite the fact that the man passed in what is assumed to be a peaceful, natural way, many people are still horrified by what went down in 1969 and how it was pounced upon by the media and Hollywood alike. It would be so easy to pick apart the reasons why America is so invested in misery, but the fact is that diving into that morass is not entirely necessary to figure it all out. People thrive on drama, they enjoy the idea that something, anything, is happening that they don’t have to be involved in but can watch from afar. Just the idea of cashing in on this kind of American history is a bit morbid and extremely disturbing, but people have been doing it for decades now. And we’ve all watched, entranced as the images have rolled by.
If not for the ability to laugh at the futility of it all the horror might be a little too much.
5. South Park
His actions weren’t a laughing matter but that doesn’t mean the man can’t be. The creators of South Park often leave people wondering just how serious they’re being and when they’re making a joke. However the parody of Charles Manson is something that a lot of people can easily laugh at if only to dispel the utter horror and disgust that comes welling up at the sight of him.
4. Ben Stiller Show
There are those moments when you find that if you can stomach it, laughing at someone like Charles Manson provides a good release. It also allows you to discover that for all his charisma and his ability to lure people into his way of thinking, he was still a misguided and very opportunistic individual that preyed on those that needed guidance in some form.
3. American Horror Story: Cult
AHS is well-known for pushing boundaries and there’s no doubt about how far they’re willing to go here. Channeling the spirit of Charles Manson into their show only makes it that much more creepy and way more disturbing than any of the others have been, and that’s saying a lot. This time around however there were more dire implications that had to be taken into account, being as it was already bound to be crazier than any other season.
2. Helter Skelter
The one thing that keeps flashing through my mind is that they killed a pregnant woman. A PREGNANT woman, and Hollywood thought it was okay to replicate this. The shock and awe it brings is nothing compared to the anger and hurt that emerges from knowing that someone was actually callous enough to perform an act that would be immediately irredeemable. But that’s Hollywood, they play to the audience, so to each their own.
1. Aquarius
This series is taking the viewpoint of the man that has to hear about and inspect the Manson family, before the murders and while Manson is getting his group together. It’d be disturbing to think that Manson was on anyone’s radar long before he and his family committed their most heinous acts in 1969.
I won’t say I’m sorry Manson is gone, but I won’t stomp on his grave either. Let sleeping dogs lie.
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